Bobby Wilson murder case to be focus of Discovery Channel show

Leslie Eric Buzbee holds his then 2-year-old son Leslie Eric Buzbee Jr. at Buzbee's Fish Camp in Spanish Fort on Oct. 29, 2009. That month, Buzbee was found not guilty of capital murder-robbery in the 2007 death of Arthur "Bobby" Wilson. (Press-Register/Bill Starling)

BALDWIN COUNTY, Alabama -- A crew from the Discovery Channel television show "On the Case with Paula Zahn" was in Baldwin and Mobile counties last week conducting interviews for a show about the death of a Spanish Fort businessman and the man tried three times for capital murder before finally being acquitted.

Arthur "Bobby" Wilson died in 2007, four months after he was attacked in his service station in Spanish Fort. Baldwin County District Attorney Hallie Dixon says the case remains open.

Arthur "Bobby" Wilson’s death remains an open case, according to Baldwin County District Attorney Hallie S. Dixon. She said her office plans to re-examine evidence and trial files.

During former District Attorney Judy A. Newcomb’s tenure, prosecutors spent two years trying to convict Leslie Eric Buzbee, 26, of the 2007 beating and robbery of Wilson at Wilson’s Service Station in Spanish Fort. Wilson, 71, died four months later. Buzbee’s third trial ended in October 2009 when jurors acquitted him.

Following the acquittal and with the Spanish Fort service station as a backdrop, Dixon announced her campaign for district attorney, accompanied by Wilson’s family.

Newcomb, who did not serve as lead prosecutor in the case, lost her bid for re-election last year.

Both Buzbee and Wilson’s daughter, Tracey Goens, said they were surprised when a producer with the Discovery Channel show contacted them about a month ago. Show officials recently flew Goens to New York to tape an interview segment, she said. Buzbee said he and his attorney, John Beck, were also flown there for interviews.

The show’s associate producers learned of the story while searching for interesting cases, said Larry Israel, a co-executive producer. "Certainly, this case has a lot of twists and turns to it, which is one of the things we look for in order to tell a story," he said.

"From our standpoint, it’s interesting to see how polarizing this story has been — to see how some people are so sure that Eric got away with something versus other people who think that the investigation was bad. I think that that’s fascinating, sort of the political elements of the story as well with the district attorneys, etc.," he said.

An "On the Case" crew interviewed Dixon on camera Wednesday, according to Martha Simmons, District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman.

Newcomb said she, too, was contacted at one point by a representative of the show and asked if she would talk with them. "I told them I would have to think about it but I had no further contact from them," Newcomb said Thursday.

Regarding the status of the case, Newcomb said earlier last week said that if new and credible evidence is received in a case, a district attorney would be bound to review the matter, if there is no conflict of interest "and their motivation is to seek justice."

Buzbee said he welcomes the interest in the case by the show and the District Attorney’s Office. He said he believes his interview will illustrate how he was treated unjustly and how officials "tried to railroad me" in the case.

"I want closure. I want to know who did it. I’m all for them opening the case back up," Buzbee said.

Between the story’s airing on television and the fresh set of eyes in the District Attorney’s Office looking over the case, Goens said she is optimistic that new evidence will be discovered. "Whether you think that Eric did it or not, my father was still murdered. So there is a killer out there," Goens said.

The show’s new season begins April 17 and the episode on Wilson and Buzbee will likely air six to 8 weeks later, Israel said.

"What would be the ultimate good thing that could come out of it is if somehow the case would find its ultimate resolution one way or the other," he said.